Lying

News about Lying, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Feb. 15, 2015

Op-Chart by Bill Adair and Maxime Fischer-Zernin rounds up some of the worst lies told in 2014 by politicians across the world, including claims made about Ebola, the Affordable Care Act and European Union. MORE

Feb. 8, 2015

Op-Ed article by author Clancy Martin describes benefits of lying in relationships, and suggests that Valentine's Day is a celebration of deception as necessary part of love; recommends moderation in telling both truth and lies for healthy relationship. MORE

Dec. 12, 2014

Op-Ed article by British television producer Peter Pomerantsev contends that Russians who came of age before 1991 grew up in culture dependent on lying for survival and assumed notion of split identities that led to nation's authoritarian and farcical government; says Russia has been employing similar obfuscations to lead Western leaders on; holds that twisting of truth that Russian government uses to control cynical public at home also plays well with West increasingly skeptical of its own institutions. MORE

Nov. 2, 2014

Matt Richtel Applied Science column examines research showing that people are more likely to lie or cheat in the afternoon and evening, when their brains are tired. MORE

Sep. 12, 2014

Federal Judge Timothy Black strikes down Ohio’s law barring people from knowingly or recklessly making false statements about candidates in a case that the United States Supreme Court said needed to be heard. MORE

Apr. 27, 2014

Matt Richtel Applied Science column; research published in journal Psychological Science finds that human beings have good instincts for judging liars, but that they are buried so deeply in the unconscious mind that they are difficult access. MORE

Mar. 25, 2014

Studies show that body language is a poor indicator of whether someone is lying or not, and that observers have difficulty identifying liars based on body language alone; findings carry implications for airport security training programs that teach Transportation Security Administration officers to read people's movements. MORE

Oct. 6, 2013

Op-Ed article by psychiatrist Anna Fels describes how those who experience great betrayals at the hands of spouses or family members have a difficult time dealing with the revelation; notes that those who are the betrayers tend to have an easier time; maintains that therapy can help those who have been lied to construct a narrative that serves as an internal structure for conducting their lives from that point on. MORE

Apr. 22, 2013

Doctors and patients are never supposed to lie directly to each other, but rare is the examining room where complete mutual honesty prevails. MORE

Dec. 29, 2012

Publisher of newspaper The Cape Cod Times issues front-page apology to readers after discovering that longtime reporter Karen Jeffrey had written dozens of articles that included people who did not exist. MORE

Sep. 23, 2012

Jorge Sosa, a former Guatemalan commander accused of taking part in a 1982 massacre, is returned to the United States to face charges he lied to gain American citizenship. MORE

Feb. 23, 2012

Supreme Court indicates that it may be open to upholding the Stolen Valor Act, federal law that makes it a crime to lie about military honors, notwithstanding the First Amendment’s free speech guarantees; case arose from the prosecution of Xavier Alvarez, who lied about being awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor during a public meeting in 2007. MORE

Feb. 20, 2012

Op-Ed article by author William Bennett Turner urges the Supreme Court to reject the federal government's argument that the Stolen Valor Act, which prohibits falsely claiming to have been awarded a military medal, serves an important government interest; warns that upholding the act in the case of Xavier Alvarez, could set a dangerous precedent by allowing the government to criminalize saying untrue things. MORE

November 2, 2014, Sunday

A federal judge on Thursday struck down Ohio’s law barring people from knowingly or recklessly making false statements about candidates in a case that the United States Supreme Court said needed to be heard.